The Case of Spielberg and the Stolen Art
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Posted by Lauren on March 5th, 2007 - Comment now »
On June 25, 1973 a Norman Rockwell painting called “Russian Schoolroom” was stolen from a gallery in Clayton, MO. In 1989 Steven Spielberg bought the painting in New York from a dealer. The painting remained in Spielberg’s personal Rockwell collection for almost 20 years until his staff recognized it from a list of stolen art and reported it to the FBI.
“It is just wonderful that it has been found,” said Laurie Norton, director of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. “It is good to know it was in safe hands, as Mr. Spielberg is a devoted and passionate collector of Norman Rockwell.”
The painting, which dipicts a classroom filled with children facing a bust of Lenin, is said to be worth $700,000 now as opposed to $20,000 when it stolen, according to FBI’s Art Crime Team and ABC News.
